Maverick

Viñales

Date of birth

12 jan 1995

Place of birth

Figueres, Spain

Height

1.71 m

Weight

62 kg

Viñales was born in Figueres, Spain, on January 12th, 1995. He began racing in minimotos at just three years of age before moving onto motocross. In 2002 his passion for speed brought him to circuit racing. He competed in the Catalonian 50cc Championship and followed it up with several successful seasons in the 70cc “metrakit” bikes.

Viñales got hold of the Catalonian 125cc Champion Title in 2007, successfully defended his crown in 2008, and won the Mediterranean Trophy that same year. In 2008 he also competed at selected events in the German IDM 125GP Championship for RZT Racing aboard an Aprilia RS 125 R, achieving a best result of seventh. In 2009, he moved up to the CEV Buckler 125GP series, partnering with Miguel Oliveira in the Blusens-BQR team. Viñales secured the Rookie of the Year award, finishing the season as the runner-up to Alberto Moncayo in the championship standings by just four points. Viñales claimed four successive podiums during the season.

The next year, Viñales moved to Team Calvo alongside Ana Carrasco. He won his first two races back-to-back at the Spanish and French Grands Prix and kept his competitive form throughout the season, fighting at the front of the field. Viñales, Rins, and Salom went into the final round with a gap of five points across them all. The championship was decided in Valencia by a battle between Rins and Viñales. In the end Viñales took the race victory and the Moto3 World Championship Title by a twelve-point margin.

After retiring at Jerez due to a technical issue, Viñales finished fourth at Estoril, narrowly missing out on a podium to Johann Zarco in a photo finish, with a margin between the pair of just 0.002s. Two weeks later at Le Mans, Viñales took his first front-row grid start with a third place and went on to seal his first victory by 0.048s at the age of 16 years, 123 days. This incredible performance made him the third-youngest rider to win a Grand Prix race, behind Scott Redding and Marco Melandri.
Securing three further victories that same season, Viñales finished his first Grand Prix season in third place in the championship rankings and claimed the Rookie of the Year award.

The youngster went into the 2012 season as title favourite in the newly formed Moto3 championship. He won five races on the Blusens Avintia FTR Honda early on in the season, but a lack in consistency, some misfortunes, and a dispute with his team resulted in a missed race in Malaysia, which allowed Cortese to win the title and Luis Salom to snatch second in the final standings.

The next year, Viñales moved to Team Calvo alongside Ana Carrasco. He won his first two races back-to-back at the Spanish and French Grands Prix and kept his competitive form throughout the season, fighting at the front of the field. Viñales, Rins, and Salom went into the final round with a gap of five points across them all. The championship was decided in Valencia by a battle between Rins and Viñales. In the end Viñales took the race victory and the Moto3 World Championship Title by a twelve-point margin.

The Moto3 World Champion then signed a Moto2 contract with Pons Racing, joining former title rival Salom. Viñales didn’t have to wait long for his first intermediate class victory, which came at the Circuit of the Americas on 13 April, 2014. He ultimately finished the season in third place with four wins and nine podiums, earning himself another Rookie of the Year award.

In September 2014, it was announced that Viñales would move up to the premier class for the 2015 season, riding for the factory Suzuki team.

Despite being a rookie and riding for a factory that was returning to MotoGP, Viñales had a very good MotoGP season. Scoring points in 16 out of 18 races in a competitive field and under challenging circumstances, he proved to be a notable rider. He finished the season in 12th place, winning again the Rookie of the Year award, completing his collection (125cc, Moto2, and MotoGP).

In 2016 Viñales shone anew. He finished third at the fifth round in France, achieving his first MotoGP podium, and it wasn’t before long that he got to step onto the top of the rostrum. At the twelfth race, the British Grand Prix held at the Silverstone

Circuit, he registered his first ever MotoGP win. He finished the season strong with two more third places in Japan and on Phillip Island, to secure fourth place in championship. His talent and strong mentality were undeniable and didn’t go unnoticed by Yamaha, who signed Viñales for the 2017 and 2018 season.

Viñales lived up to the hype. After a very strong debut on the YZR-M1 during the pre-season, the young Spaniard went on to win the first two races in Qatar and Argentina. He later followed up the achievement by securing Yamaha its 500th Grand Prix victory in Le Mans, after a sensational fight with teammate Valentino Rossi. Despite the season being filled with grip issues, the Spaniard brought in solid points, scoring second places in Mugello and Silverstone and third places in Brno and Phillip Island, to ultimately conclude the season in third place.

After such a strong first year with Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team, Viñales was hungry to show his talent again in 2018, but the season proved to be one of the most difficult in his premier class career. Nevertheless, the Spaniard kept his motivation high, scoring podiums at the rounds held at COTA, Circuit TT-Assen, the Sachsenring, and Buriram. He returned to winning form in the race at Phillip Island, giving Yamaha its first victory since the round at Assen one year prior. He finished the season in fourth place overall, just five points behind his teammate in third position.

2019 signals a new start for Viñales. He has changed his rider number from #25 to #12 and welcomes new Crew Chief Esteban García to his side of the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP pit box (he worked with him before in 2013, winning the Moto3 World Championship).